BOSTON – Friday, March 28, 2014 –Effective immediately, service on the MBTA subway and fifteen Key Bus Routes will operate 90 minutes longer on Friday and Saturday nights. This expanded service allows Boston to continue to compete among other world class cities that offer late night public transportation and make Boston an even more desirable place to live, work and play.

“We’ve heard our customers’ message loud and clear – they want more service, not less,” said MassDOT Secretary & CEO Richard A. Davey. “This pilot program is just one way we’re responding to that call and we’re so excited to see how the extended service improves the quality of life and economic vibrancy of the region.”

Late night service will operate as it does during the day, serving customers at the same stations and stops. All new trips will be scheduled and will appear on Google, phone apps and the MBTA website. The last Red, Orange, Blue and Green Line trains will depart downtown stations at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and approximately 1:00 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights. Extended late night service will operate approximately every 15-20 minutes in most cases, with more frequent service in the core of the system. Individual schedules for each station and route can vary, and customers are strongly encouraged to look at schedules before traveling. Regular rapid transit and bus fares will be charged on late night services and
real-time information for buses will also be available during the extended hours.

“Our customers are always asking for more service, and I am happy that we are able to bring extended weekend hours to them beginning on March 28,” said MBTA General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott. “From students to entrepreneurs to service employees, late night service will allow a wide cross-section of our vibrant population to better travel home from both work and play.”

Late night service will also allow Boston employers to be better suited for recruiting in the technology sector in places like the Innovation District or Kendall Square, with the hope to attract and maintain top talent looking to not only build their careers, but enjoy the social lives they’ve built here as well. Likewise, service industry workers, the backbone of Greater Boston’s social economy who were previously unable to utilize the MBTA for their commute, will now be able to get home more affordably and, in turn, better improve their own lives and the lives of their families. And, as the top destination for academia in the country, Boston and its neighbors will keep attracting young people and young professionals to the many cultural and nighttime attractions the city provides, with a safer, less expensive way to get home.

To help cover the cost of the additional service, the MBTA has launched a sponsorship program and has partnered with leading businesses from the Greater Boston area. The Boston Globe, Boston Red Sox, Dunkin’ Donuts, Suffolk Construction and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association have signed on as the first sponsors of the late night service pilot program. In total, sponsors are contributing over $1.5 million in support to help cover the estimated $16 million cost of late night service.

The Future Boston Alliance (FBA) is launching a grassroots crowd-funding effort to support service as well. FBA will seed the effort with $5,000 and has set a goal of raising an additional $20,000 from residents and riders of the system through crowdsourcing efforts. For more information or to contribute visit: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/boston-and-late-nite-t-service-lets-do-it